That's been my observation as well. Feeding people more information or giving them more tools often doesn't change their minds, it just gives them more ways to argue a position that was decided upon by the beginning. This shouldn't be a surprise; almost no one who advocates these solutions thinks that it will change their own views on [HOT TOPIC OF THE DAY], but rather that that everyone else will come to agree with their own pre-determined position.

Another solution might be convincing people to not pay attention to so many hot botton issues and not turn everything into a debate. A certain amount of detachment is probably more healthy for individuals and for the society.